ANGLICAN PRIMACY

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 26, 25 October 1918, Page 6

ANGLICAN PRIMACY

PROPOSED CENTRALISATION IN WELLINGTON

MODE OF ELECTION

In iiis address to tho Synod of the Anglican Dioceso of Auckland Bjshop Avorill referred as follows to tho proposal to centralise the Primacy in Wellington :—

A-mattor of considerable importance'to tho whole province will come up for discussion at tho General Synod next year oil a report to bo presented by a committee set up by the Standing Committee of General Synod on tho motion of the. Bishop of Christchurch. An interim report was presented to tho said Standing Committee at its recent meeting in Wellington, and the committee was onlarged and strengthened .with ft view to ii fuller and more representative report being presented to General Synod. If this Synod desires to express' any opinion on the questions of (1) tho centralisation of tho Primacy at Wellington, (2) the modo of election of Primate, it. is most important that it should te done at tho present session, as some changes will inevitably l>o made by the General Synod.

From a geographical point of view there is undoubtedly much to be said for the centralisation of the Primacy in Wellington, and also for holding' the meetings of General Synod in Wellington, but whether the time has come for making the change is a debateablo point. . The ofiico of Primata in a small provincinl church like our own is, not a very arduous one, and with improved means of communication tho Primate's place of residence does not fieem vital to the due fulfilment of his duties. It seems to me that at present the question of the centralisation of the Primacy is of considerably less importance than the revision of the mode of electing a Primate. I am strongly of the opinion that tho election of the Primate cannot be taken out of tho hands of the General Synod, even if it should bo decided to centralise tho Primacy at AVellington. The simplest way out of the difficulty would be for the Bench of Bishops to elect the Primate, but it would hardly be consistent with our democratic constitution, and hardly satisfactory to the Bishop elected. I venture to think that the election of the Primato is much more the concern of the clergy and laity than the bishops, and that the bishops should acquiesce in tho choice of tho clergy and the laity, unles3 they have noma manifest and good reason for dissenting from it. Why should not the clergy and laity proceed by ballot as at present, and when the result of the ballot is declared submit the name to" the Bench of Bishops for approval or veto?-' It is hardly likely that tho bishops would Veto the choice 'of the other orders, but if 6uch a contingency should happen, a second and even a third ballot nmsfi bo held, and the result declared. If at the end of the third ballot there was still no election, then either the bishops would have to elect or tho election bo postponed till tho_ next meeting of General Synod, the senior bishop acting- in tho meanwhile as Primate.

I must admit that the difficulties in connection with the election of a Primate if the Primacy was centralised at Wellington seem almost insuperable, It is hardly likely that the procedure of the Irish Church would apply in New Zealand, as the conditions are so different, and a bishop who'might be physically capable of performing: hie episcopal duties in one diocese might find it impossible to do so in another. It would bo necessary for the dioccso of Wellington to nominate a Primate to the General Synod, or vice versa, and it is quite possible that there might bo a deadlock.' It w generally supposed that all difficulties would disappear after the first election, but would they? The diocese of Wellington might desire some time to appoint fls bishop a priest from En"land or Australia, and the General Synod might consider that however excellent tho appointment might be from a diocesan point of view it was not satisfactory from a provincial point of view. On tho whole, I am inclined to think that we should be wiser to amend and improve our present canon than embark upon an entirely new policy unless some decidedly better way can be pointed